Nanaimo RCMP say it was an “extremely tense” situation late Thursday morning when a youth was seen pointing a firearm at motorists as he walked along Departure Bay Road.The reports led to three area schools imposing hold-and-secure measures — Wellington Secondary and Rock City and Departure Bay elementaries. In hold-and-secure mode, a school’s outside doors are locked while regular activities continue inside.
At about 12:20 p.m., a 14-year-old was arrested at a home in the 3800-block of Departure Bay Road for possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. The youth remains in custody and the investigation is ongoing. The Nanaimo incident follows one in Saanich on Monday where two men were target-shooting on the beach by Balmacarra Park in Gordon Head using an airsoft rifle, prompting a police response.In February, West Shore RCMP arrested a youth who had three airsoft rifles after a report that someone was sitting in a parked vehicle with a gun near a financial institution on Kelly Road.